Hot Docs News
Elizabeth Radshaw Steps Down from Hot Docs After 17 Years of Transformative Leadership in the Documentary Field
Hot Docs has announced that director of industry programs Elizabeth Radshaw has stepped down after 17 remarkable years with the organization. During her tenure, Radshaw established pioneering film funds, secured millions in direct financial support for the documentary community, and championed thousands of filmmakers. Her work has reshaped both Hot Docs and the documentary landscape, and Hot Docs thanks her for her invaluable contributions.
"Serving this community for nearly two decades has been the most powerful and fulfilling chapter of my professional life," said Radshaw. "It's been an honour to work alongside extraordinary creators, to help build platforms that didn’t exist before, and to shape the global conversation around documentary film."
"We are so grateful for Elizabeth’s exceptional contributions to Hot Docs and the global documentary ecosystem," said Diana Sanchez, executive director of Hot Docs. "As she begins the next chapter of her career, all of us at Hot Docs join the documentary community in celebrating her legacy of visionary leadership, fierce advocacy and commitment to empowering filmmakers."
Radshaw joined Hot Docs in 2009 as director of the Hot Docs Forum, then the Toronto Documentary Forum, before becoming director of industry programs in 2011. At the Festival, Radshaw led major market initiatives, including the Hot Docs Forum and Deal Maker, creating vital financing opportunities for hundreds of films. Also at the Festival, she established the first look curated access program that connects philanthropic and doc-loving supporters with new projects in development.
Radshaw was instrumental in founding the Hot Docs-Blue Ice Docs Fund, with the generous support of Blue Ice Docs, to support a new generation of African documentary filmmakers. Radshaw led Hot Docs Partners, an initiative that connected individuals with a deep appreciation for documentary filmmaking and an interest in supporting feature-length projects seeking financial backing. Additionally, she helped create the CrossCurrents International Doc Fund, initiated and supported by R&M Lang Foundation to fund short form documentary storytelling from within groups whose perspectives have been historically underrepresented. The Fund expanded to include a feature strand supported by Panicaro Foundation, as well as a Canadian strand supported by Netflix. The CrossCurrents Canada Doc Fund also became a pillar of the Canadian Storytellers Project. The initiative, supported by Netflix and spearheaded by Radshaw, won a 2020 Business/Arts Community Impact Award, and included the Doc Ignite filmmaker labs, the Hot Docs Incubator training program, and the Doc Accelerator professional development program. A final highlight is her role in Hot Docs commissions, including In the Name of All Canadians with Heritage Canada for the country’s 150th anniversary, Roads to Regeneration with SAP, and the Citizen Minutes collection, supported by the Rossy Foundation, which is now on its third series.
During this time of transition, executive director Diana Sanchez has assumed leadership of Hot Docs’ industry programs.